This is the era of the mega: mega airports, mega stores, even mega conference centers. Mega-izing permits various efficiencies in terms of costs and administration, but it can make the navigation task of the human user/customer more difficult. In fact, even medium large stores are often considered difficult to navigate, or "tour," as we call it.
For example, simple grocery shopping can be a time consuming, and frustrating, experience. Few shoppers know where in the store every single item is, resulting in retracings, and waiting to ask store personnel for help. Store personnel are not themselves always able to keep track of things, and frequently either do not know the answer, or, worse, `know` an incorrect answer. Outages, whether understandable or inexplicable, leave the shopper wondering what to do next. People wanting to read the nutrition analysis on the labels, or to do price comparisons, often find themselves in the way of other shoppers. In addition, in some cases, such as when shopping with young children, it is simply not feasible to stop to do either activity. And since sale items are not always known in advance, people find that they can't always take advantage of the sale, having planned their shopping without this information. This situation is often made more difficult by the super-store phenomena, where inventory may shift dramatically in a very short period of time. Further, some such stores are so large that they are almost overwhelming to the shopper (and, as we have noted, some of the personnel).
On the other hand, advances in computing technology, such as fast processing speeds, and large, cheap random access memory, make it possible to offer services that have not previously been feasible. This includes the prospect of planning an entire trip to a store, or museum or airport, from central processing areas (such as those located in the store or airport, travel agency, etc.) or even from the comfort of one's own home using the interent. It also allows employees to quickly discover where what a user wants is available, and how best to tell the user to get there.
Some of the recent advances in computing have translated into efforts to produce Internet based shopping. A common approach to Internet based shopping is that of the cybermall or electronic mall. For example, MarketplaceMCI (http://www.internetmci.com) displays different merchants and provides a user with a `shopping basket` to hold their purchases. Others include the Internet Shopping Network (http://www.internet.net), Cybershop (http://www.homeshop.com), and Virtual Vineyards (http://www.retailinfo.com). CompuServe also planned to move its Electronic Mall to the Internet. All of the systems above feature displaying merchandise and allowing the user to order on-line. Some, like Cybershop, allow the user to query across stores in interesting ways, such as by price or product description. These approaches do not involve a user actually going to a store and hence provide no support for planning and optimizing a (physical) shopping trip.
Surfin' UTC (http://www.shoputc.com) is an on-line information site for a physical mall in San Diego. It includes a clickable map of the mall layout, with linked information to the stores and restaurants thus shown, and printable coupons. Chain Store Age, Sep. 1995, Retailing on the Internet: Seeking Truth Beyond the Hype, pp 33-72!. The software does not assist the user in designing a customized map to help him garner specific desired purchases.
Individual stores also offer some Internet based services. For example, J.C. Penny offers scanned images, product, and pricing information, and accommodates order taking (http://www.jcpenny.com). Other stores are using the Internet as a means of advertising, vs. ordering and shopping. For example, Wal-Mart has a site (http://www.wal-mart.com) which shows information about the company and specials Chain Store Age, September 1995, Retailing on the Internet: Seeking Truth Beyond the Hype, pp 33-72!. Kmart similarly offers a home page (http://www.kmart.com) showing some of the specials that are also printed in its circular Chain Store Age, January 1996, Revenge of the Webmaster, p. 150!. None of these approaches help the user navigate through the store involved.
Onsale, Inc. offers a twist on Internet shopping--an Internet auction house, where users bid in order to purchase merchandise. The system is not entirely real time--for example, each auction has a preset ending time. WebWeek, Vol. 2, Issue 8, Jun. 17, 1996, pp. 23, 26.! However, it too is a completely on-line system, in that there is no issue of a user physically going through any area.
Some Internet shopping products are focused on supermarket and grocery shopping. The Supermarket Shopping Network (http://www.mysupermarket.com) allows creation of shopping lists via menu driven item selection or recipes. However, units were not standardized nor were duplicate items appropriately aggregated. The resultant shopping list can then be emailed to one of the featured stores for collection and home delivery. Chain Store Age, February 1996, More Than Just Ordering, p. 176!
PeaPod, Inc., (http://www.peapod.com) provide users with software that can be run on home PCs and allows a user to shop a specific store, Jewel, by using phone lines. Users choose items via a series of item menus, and the set of items is then collected by store personnel and delivered to them. Similarly, a Kroger store in Columbus, Ohio allows users to choose items via its World Wide Web site (http://www.foodcoop.com/kroger). Byerly's also allows user's to select items that will be delivered. (http://www.shopat.com/byerly's) Chain Store Age, January 1996, Super Internet Tests, p. 150!.
None of these supermarket based systems involve the customer physically perusing the store, and hence do not provide any navigation assistance. A K-mart store (Rt. 347, Lake Grove) has instituted a system of placing 81/2by 11 inch physical maps of the store, labeled by department, and located next to a customer service call box. A store employee can be contacted using the call box and will then physically travel to the customer location and attempt to assist the customer. The store maps are generic and do not reflect the location of their placement. There is no information on the map as to exactly what items are sold at what locations, nor is there a way for the customer to obtain a customized map showing a tour that encompasses the locations of the specific items that he would like to buy.
Nordstrom offers a service of Personal Touch America, whereby customers can email queries and orders, which are then handled by "personal shoppers." It is their hope that the personal shopper will develop a helpful relationship with the customer over time. Another email approach is that of Ann Hemyng's Chocolate Factory, which shows pictures of candy and accepts email orders (http://mmink.cts.com/mmink/dossiers/choco.html). Chain Store Age, September 1995, Retailing on the Internet: Seeking Truth Beyond the Hype, pp 33-72!. Once again, this service does not involve the user physically perusing the store and hence does not help the user do so.
None of the above electronic systems can satisfy the `hands-on` aspects required of shopping, at least some of the time, such as, how does it look on, what does the material feel like, how does the produce look and feel. To get the answers to these and other questions, and simply because they enjoy it, shoppers will always physically go to the store, at least some of the time. Further, some activities, such as traveling and museum going, are inherently physically based in such a way that it seems impossible for any only symbolically based system to replace their main activities (e.g., get me to the gate I need).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for specifying a set of items or activities or destinations of interest which automatically generates and retains a multiplicity of sets of destinations wherein those items or activities can be acquired or pursued.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for ordering each of the so generated destination sets into a path, also referred to as a tour, and choosing the optimal one, based on a user-specified criteria, such as the shortest.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for attaching time based information to each of the so generated destination sets, and consequently to the corresponding paths, so that the path which conforms best to user-specified timing considerations, such as the one which will enable the user to take a lunch or coffee break at a given time, may be chosen.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for reviewing and querying, with all of the facility of standard database technology, previously selected sets of items, activities, or destinations of interest, and/or prior destination sets, and/or prior paths.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for allowing several users at different sites to view, edit, or annotate either the set of items, activities, or destinations of interest, or prior destination sets, and/or prior paths, at the same time or at different times.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for allowing several users at different sites to leave messages for each other, at the same time or at different times.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for presenting graphical and other information regarding a route of interest.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a method for displaying objects en route to a specified, chosen object.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for restarting a tour after an unplanned detour.